Wednesday, May 6, 2026

It is the 6th of May 2026. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It was only two weeks ago, and for another project I’m working on, I listened to a man tell the story of the Bible in the vernacular (or common language)- in this case, in English, and how the very mean King Henry VIII put William Tyndale and others to death for daring to translate the Bible into English. The man teaching wasn’t wrong per say, but the real story is how Henry VIII would make a dramatic U-turn on his earlier proclamation such that it was on this, the 6th of May in 1541 that the same king responsible (by proxy) for putting Tyndale to death 5 years prior would decree “for the Bible [in English] of the largest and greatest volume to be had in every church’”. This is the story of that Bible- the so-called Great Bible and how it came to be, and came to be the great bridge between Tyndale, the King James, and the Bible you have in English today.

You have perhaps heard of John Wycliffe- that man in the 1300s who first dared to translate the Bible into English. BUT, the weakness of his text was that it was a translation from the Vulgate- that is, not from the original languages but from the Latin text of Jerome alone.

Enter William Tyndale in the 16th century- inspired by the likes of Erasmus and Luther, he wanted to make an English text of the Bible based on the original Hebrew and Greek texts. It would lead to his demise- the English Reformation was not yet ready for an English text. But he did a fair amount of poking and theological shading in his translation. For instance, he wouldn’t translate “ekklesia” as church, but rather (and more correctly) as “congregation”. In the same way that he translated “Presbyters” as “Elders” instead of “Priests,” he was clearly knocking at the foundations of Catholic hierarchy. When he was put to death in 1536, his prayer was that his martyrdom would “open the King of England’s Eyes,” and in some ways, they were.

Tyndale’s Bible wasn’t complete- he didn’t get to finish parts of the Old Testament. And so Miles Coverdale filled in those gaps with his 1535 text, produced while Tyndale was under arrest. Coverdale’s text was then refined by John Rogers, who stitched together Tyndale and Coverdale under the Pseudonym of Thomas Matthew to create “Matthew’s Bible”- the one that caught the attention of Thomas Cromwell, Henry’s advisor, who had helped convince the King that an English Bible would help his claims to supremacy over the Pope.

And so, Coverdale and Cromwell worked to create the “Great Bible”- called great because of its size- it was printed on 11 x 16.5-inch pages and was 14 inches thick. 7 editions were printed between 1539 and 1541 for some 9,000 churches. It has been called the “Chained Bible” because it was chained to a lectern and initially available to all to read (Henry would later restrict Artisans and women from reading it). It is the first “authorized” version of a Bible by a king, and the front page makes Henry’s role clear. A very busy woodcut frontispiece places Henry, enthroned and crowned in the top center (a place often reserved for God the Father), and he is handing down the Bible to his ministers and then to the people below, who respond with “Long Live the King”.

Cromwell, who was also on the frontispiece, would have his coat of arms removed when he fell out of favor with the King, and Henry himself would backtrack on his proclamation of the need for a bible in every church. But the die had been cast. The Bible in English would be the best-selling book- despite its cost- in 1541, and this would give way to the Bishop’s Bible and then the King James, borrowing heavily from Tyndale and the successive Bibles that were made public and legal with the King’s proclamation on this, the 6th of May in 1541.

The Last word for today comes from the daily lectionary and John 8:

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 6th of May 2026, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man who might also be suspicious of artisans reading too much scripture- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who always confuses Wycliffe and Tyndale… I had to check myself multiple times on this script… I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.